Beneath the gaudy headline the rag
informed its readership how the new man had been put in place by a
Tottenham board after intense debate and lengthy deliberation. Further
reading revealed Molehusband’s credentials: journey man player with a
number of hapless pub teams (Bakers Arms beer bellies; Royal Oak head
bangers) … undistinguished managerial career in minor
London
leagues: Balls Pond Road Rangers (twice relegated); Dalston Junction
United (went into liquidation); Clapham Common Wanderers (disbanded)…
Asked how he knew of the glamorous Tottenham vacancy, Molehusband
replied, “I saw it advertised at our local Job Centre, so I thought,
‘that’s right up my street, I’ll go for it’”. At the
press conference to unveil the new manager, Daniel Levy could hardly
contain his enthusiasm when he said, “At last we’ve got the right
man. Sid is definitely the guy to take us back to the top”…

This surreal introduction may appear a
bit far fetched and even insensitive under the current circumstances,
but I think it illustrates the thinking, or rather speculation,
surrounding the appointment of the next Spurs manager. While Mr.
Molehusband is a satirical invention there are some real life candidates
presently being mentioned apropos the spurs job who display, at least to
the author, the same level of unsuitability.

Among these is Alan Curbishley. Why
? Well, let’s look at a few simple facts: (a) his team has never won a
trophy: (b) his record of 240 wins and 219 loses with 163 draws is
distinctly below average when discussing the achievements of a great
manager. I use the word great deliberately because, make no mistake, a
great manager is what Tottenham need now more than ever. In percentage
terms of matches played (622) Curbishley’s victories amount to a mere
38.5 %. To put this statistic into perspective Gerry Francis’s tenure
as spurs boss produced (apart from some appalling performances) a 39%
success ratio (Pl 142 W 55 L45 D42). The similarity between the two men
goes further in that Curbishley, like Francis in the eighties, is feted
as an up and coming managerial talent.

Statistics, however, are no crystal
ball and the most persuasive argument against them to support a case is
that they show only what happened in the past and not what will happen
in the future. Curbishley proponents can point to the dynamic aspects of
his thirteen years reign, the team’s relatively attractive playing
style and their now secure place in the premiership (?) after years of
struggle as examples of his ability. All quite true. And once installed
as Tottenham manager with a patient and supportive boardroom behind him
he might do a first class job.

However, I doubt it. Managing Spurs is
a world away from the quiet of the Valley. The expectation level,
whether realistic or unrealistic, is massive given the club’s
illustrious history, even more so now that the Arsenal are doing so
well. The media attention is acute especially when the team struggle,
ask Gerry Francis or Glen Hoddle.

Toward the end of his term Francis cut a
pathetic figure before the gaze of the TV cameras, his head bowed,
mumbling platitudes into a microphone. He clearly buckled under the
weight of media scrutiny and supporter discontent. By contrast,
Curbishley appears relaxed when interviewed before the TV cameras as
Charlton Manager even when his team is doing badly. The absence of
supporter expectation and the board’s obvious backing of their man
provide Curbishley with the self confidence he needs to hand any media
inquisition. In short, Curbishley is in his comfort zone and displays no
indication of leaving. Then
there’s the thorny issue of transfer acquisitions, the undoing of many
recent Spurs managers not least of which is Hoddle himself. An incoming
appointee would need to boast a proven track record in this department.

There’s no getting away from the fact
that if the club want to attract top quality players a manager of
genuine statue must be in place and he must be a man who commands
respect in terms of achievement, tactical insight, fair mindedness and
player evaluation. I think it’s fair to say that what Spurs need is
not just a very capable manager, but also a man with a sense of mission.
Someone who can create a dynasty at the club very much in the way Bill
Shankly did at
Liverpool
.

The patterns of a club’s achievement
are fascinating and the process is undoubtedly cyclical. The
Liverpool
torch passed to Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish before the
ascendancy of Manchester United eclipsed its glow, a glorious 32 year
epoch which began in 1959 with Shankly’s appointment. During this
period,
Liverpool
played 1,662 games, winning a staggering 923; losing 330; and drawing
419, an overall success rate of 55%. Dalglish emerges as the most
successful of the quartet with a success ratio of 60.5%, followed by
Paisley 56%, Fagan 53% and Shankly 52.25%. Again, to place this data in
some sort of perspective, Bill Nicholson achieved 47.75% in his 16 years
as Spurs manager and Alex Ferguson is currently 56.5% and Arsene Wenger
58% (percentages are expressed as the number of games won from a given
total). Venables and Burkinshaw come well down the list with 41% and
40.5% respectively. Incidentally, the latter figures mirror almost
exactly Souness’srecord
at
Liverpool
and
Blackburn
.

Someone once said that you can make
statistics prove anything and there’s more than a grain of truth in
this statement. However, statistics do provide some objective evidence
of the caliber of man required for the Spurs’ job as well as
illustrating how previous incumbents fell short of these historic bench
marks. To labour the point: the Tottenham board should not consider any
candidate whose previous teams do not demonstrate at least a 52% win
ratio throughout several seasons.

So where does all this leave Curbishley
in the scheme of things. Well, though he is clearly a good manager
capable of getting the best from meager resources he is not the man of
destiny that Tottenham need. The Spurs hot seat has already seen too
much ineptitude to dalliance with another little man promoted beyond his
abilities.

Another face in candidates’
gallery (along with Uncle Tom Cobbley and all) is that of Martin
O’Neill. While the Irishman’s record at Park head is impressive, Pl
216 W169 L27 D20, a success ratio of 78%, this success is deceptive in
that Celtic is one of two clubs which have traditionally dominated
Scottish football. I’m sure that the club would have done as well with
Madonna as head honcho (certainly the half time team talks would be
livelier, not to mention the after match baths). While Curbishley’s
pre-Charlton experience is non existent, O’Neill’s pre-Celtic
managerial credentials lack conviction. Have we forgotten that he
managed a very average
Leicester
side for five years before landing a plum job at the old firm. And in
case you don’t know it, his record at the midland’s club is far from
exceptional: Pl 223 W85 L70 D68, a success rate of 38%, hardly
comparable with others mentioned in this article. O’Neill, like Keegan,
is a tub thumper, a lively show man who wears his emotions on his
sleeve, a managerial Dinosaur from the primeval wasteland of the old
first division. A future Tottenham figure head? I don’t think so.

Many people have criticized Daniel Levy
and Co for delaying the appointment of a new manager. But it seems to me
that the question of finding the right guy is so critical that the
matter requires Einstein-like inquiry. If the process takes months then
so be it. Levy is doing the right thing in consulting with knowledgeable
people within the game in an attempt to find Mr. Right. Perhaps, and I
hope this is the case, he realizes that Tottenham cannot afford to get
it wrong again. I for one seriously doubt that the club can withstand
another managerial cock-up in what has been a long series of fiascos. In
the past the people responsible for these appointments have relied far
too much on hunch, wishful thinking and half-baked football intuition
rather than cold, hard, sober analysis of the candidates CV’s and
their qualities as men.

The board paid the price last time when
appointing Hoddle, a manager who appeared to favour individuals on the
basis of their personality rather than their playing skill. You cannot
run a professional football club as if a popularity contest. The best
player is often the most effective even though he may be the most
loathsome drone this side of the
Seven Sisters Road
. Hoddle failed because he became too subjective, lacking the
intellectual vitality necessary for objective thinking.

Who ever succeeds David Pleat, and at
the time of writing this is still unclear, he will need the deportment
of an emperor and the mental clarity of a spiritual leader. The error we
have all made, board members and fans alike, is allowing ourselves to be
taken in by the facile success of those who seek career preferment and
mistaking the clamour of the sports pages for a critique of a
candidate’s track record. So let’s have no more former players
hailed as returning messiahs, Ardiles, Perryman and Hoddle were, and
let’s not mince words here, unmitigated failures. Thankfully, I cannot
think of any recent Spurs player who might lay claim to the job—
please, Mr. Levy, no surprises! Take all the time you need. But, for
Christ’s sake, make a decision based on reason and not one influenced
by some crusade to install a former playing favourite; or some
“people’s champion” who talks a good game.

Amid all the gossip and speculation in
the newspapers one man stands out as a genuine prospect: Giovanni

Trapattoni. I can already hear groans of disapproval as you recall the
last time Johnny Foreigner took a crack at the job.

But wait a moment; Trap’s is no
Christian Gross, no obscure freemason with the tactical nous of Forest
Gump.

This guy’s the real McCoy. A winner as
both player and coach. In his 14- year playing career with AC Milan
Trapattoni won two Serie A Championships, two European cups, a Cup
Winners Cup and represented
Italy
17 times.

The man from
Lombardy
did not get off to an auspicious start when he returned to AC to begin
his coaching career.

It wasn’t until he took up the reigns
at Juventus that things really started to happen, winning six scudettos,
two UEFA Cups and a European cup throughout the seventies and eighties.
Moving on to Inter Milan, Trapattoni notched up more success by winning
the Serie A championship and UEFA cup in 1989 and 1991 respectively.
Trapattoni also has the advantage of working outside of his native
country, having two spells at Bayern Munich, the first being the most
successful when his team
captured the Bundesliga in 1997. His stay at Fiorentina saw the club
make the Champions League before Traps took charge of the national team.

The Italian’s approach may give rise
to concern among die hard Spurs fans as he is closely associated with
the much maligned, and it has to be said much misunderstood, catenaccio
style. His teams are rather like the man himself: gritty, determined and
rock-ribbed (sounds a bit like the old Arsenal). Like nearly all Italian
coaches he favours a solid 3-man back-line with a rugged midfield in
front, often featuring a sweeper. However, it would be wrong to see him
as a kind of Italian George Graham, as his teams often play with 3
forwards. Not only has he achieved considerable success, Trapattoni has
worked with some of the world’s greatest players and as a result he is
clearly not fazed by dressing room malcontents. What is more, he has
vast experience of dealing with the Italian media, a heroic task in
itself and a facet that will put him in good stead once in the Devil’s
kitchen heat of the Tottenham job.

The appointment of a foreign coach is
not without risks, however. Apart from all the cultural adjustments
Trapattoni would be required to make there’s the major question of
language, of being able to learn English and speak it well enough to
motivate players and get tactical points across, an aspect that dogged
his second spell at Bayern as he was unable to fully master the German
tongue. There’s also his age, at 65 he’s no spring chicken. Still,
on balance I think this is a gamble worth taking. British football is
now sufficiently Europeanized to suggest that the communication issue is
no longer the barrier it was once. The fact that Ranieri, Wenger and
Eriksson ply their trade here successfully indicates that it can be done
by anyone who cares to meet the challenge. And history shows us that
Trapattoni loves a challenge.

British football is on the verge of a
brave new world, and by definition that includes Tottenham Hotspur. It
is not too fanciful to say that within a few seasons we will see the
creation of a European super league (why do you think Arsenal are moving
to a new stadium!). Let’s face it we’re half way there already with
the advent of the Champions League. The best two or three teams in each
European domestic league will be hived off to compete against each other
in a rarefied elitist environment—no doubt to the huge financial
advantage of the television companies, but this is another story. In
order to be part of this new order Spurs have to catch up with the likes
of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea. This can be done. But it can
only be done by leadership and commitment from the top, something which
has been depressingly missing for the last fifteen years. ENIC find
themselves in control of Tottenham at the most critical juncture in the
club’s history. Their decision concerning the next manager and the
financial investment and backing he receives will make or break the
club. Sound boardroom decisions backed by self confident daring in term
of player investment will give Spurs a shot at any future super league.
Fail and the club will find itself isolated in a football leper colony,
doomed to die a slow death among the
Bolton
’s and
Blackburn
’s in a nether world of mediocrity.

I for one refuse to accept that we have
sunk so low as to consider the likes of Curbishley, O’Neill, Souness
and Godknows who else to over
see the club’s direction. The new man must be cosmopolitan, urbane,
knowledgeable and above all, be a “winner”. Those responsible for
making the impending appointment need to go away and acquaint themselves
of the club’s history, its association with panache and élan. The
club desperately needs to reinvent itself and those in control need to
break out of their comfort zone and start thinking big. It seems to me
that the atmosphere surrounding Tottenham has become timid through lack
of success. It’s time to end the years of under achievement. This
means capturing a manager of proven pedigree and recognized statue; and
providing him with the financial muscle to buy players of proven ability
demonstrated at the highest levels. Nothing short of these measures will
rescue the club from the doldrums in which it now finds itself.

I repeat. Take all the time you need
Mr. Levy. You dare not fail. Bear only this in mind: The man you want
will be of “spirited bearing, good natured and free as Robin Hood; yet
with the port of an emperor – if need be, calm,
serious, and fit to stand the gaze of millions.”